Corset.



A. RAY. CORSET.

APPLICATION FILED APB.22, 1912.

1,095,352, Patented May 5, 1914.

COLUMBlA PLANOGRAPH (30., WASHINGTON, n. c.

STATES sin,

CORSET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Application filed April 22, 1912. Serial No. 692,377.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Acnns RAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Corsets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to corsets, and pertains especially to a corset and abdominal supporter and hose-supporters. The object being to provide in one garment acorset and an abdominal support, in which the abdomen support is effected by stiffening, shaping and eyeleting the soft corset portion below the clasp-steels and drawing it upward and backward and engaging it with a shaped, stifiened and eyeleted flap secured to the underside of the corset, the two pieces so joined forming'a firm, snug and adjustable incasement of the lower abdomen; and also tabs above the abdomenfitting portion for the attachment of hosesupporters so that these shall not operate to draw the abdomen supporting portion away from the body, and so shaped and of such size as to cover the receding abdomenfitting portion and give the corset the straight lines demanded by the fashion of the day.

In carrying out the invention, the front portions at either side of the front are extended, fitted, stiffened, and provided at their front edges with numerous wide hooks and eyes to closely and securely fasten said edges, the hooks and eyes fastening opposite to the clasp-steels; and on its back edges with eyelets for lacing or other means for engagement with a small, shaped flap, afiixecl under the corset at either side and forward and below the hip, and complementally eyeleted or otherwise provided to engage with the front portions, said flaps being so disposed with regard to the front portions that the opposing edges diverge from top to bottom forming a V-opening downward, the closing of which by lacing or otherwise drawing the forward portion upward and backward effects a snug incasement of the lower abdomen, said snug incasement as it follows the receding lines of the abdomen, being concealed by a substitute apron front skirt device in the form of wide tabs secured to the corset front above or at the upper edge of the receding portion and having the front hose-supporters attached thereto; the hose-supporters attached at this place serving the three-fold purposes of holding down the concealing apron-front portion or device, holding up the stockings and maintaining the corset in position, but without increasing the injurious downward pressure exerted by theordinary corset, and without nullifying the advantagessought.

Another object of this invention is to provide in one integral garment a corset with an abdominal supporter which shall support, adjust, retain and reduce the figure of the wearer without departing from the straight lines demanded by the fashion of the day, be as easy of adjustment and fastening as the ordinary corset by simply hooking down the front, and, removing the strain of the hose-supporters from the base of the corset where they increase the injurious downward pressure of the ordinary corset, and where they operate to nullify the advantage sought by continually dragging the supporting portion away from the wearers body, allowing the flesh to gradu ally find its way underneath and outside, place them in such position and connection that they will assist in maintaining a correct and comfortable position of the corset upon the wearer.

The corset is put on the wearer in the usual manner, the adjusting of the abdominal-supporting portion being easily and quickly accomplished by simply drawing the lacing until the two sections are brought up snugly against the body, with an upward tension, and when once adjusted need not be changed from day to day, but only as the figure of the wearer is actually reduced so that by only the usual front closing of the corset, the hose-supporters attaching to the stockings in the usual manner, a perfectly snug abdominal supporter is permanently adjusted, without sacrificing the lines of comfort, grace and fashion demanded of a successful corset, and with no evidence upon the outside of the corset to dist-in guish it unpleasantly.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the corset from the front. Fig. 2 is a View of the fragments of the front of the corset looking from the inside.

The upper portion of the corset A illus trated in the drawings is of any usual or preferred construction and has the usual clasp steels 3 and boning or stiffening indicated by the series of groups of three vertical lines 15. The front portion of the corset and the boning therein are continued down to the limit of the torso as at 2, and the edges are adapted to be connected below the clasp steels by hooks or detachable fasteners 20. Vertical slits 4 are formed in the lower edge of the corset at points forward of the hips, said slits preferably extending up to about the level of the bottom of the boned area in ordinary corset-s. The front edges of the slits 4: are provided with eyelets or lacing openings 5 and by means of lacing 9, said edges are adjustably connected with the front edges 7 of stiffened flaps 6 secured at their rear edges to the inside of the corset.

he spaces between the front edges of the slits t and flaps 6 are of inverted ii-shape when the corset is spread in a single plane, but when said edges are drawn together more or less by the lacing and the corset is curved around the body of the wearer the flaps and lower portion of the corset are drawn in under the abdomen with the lower edges following closely the lines of the groin.

The corset-body at the base of the front clasp-steels is provided with a device 10,

"covering apron-fashion, the receding lower portion of the corset, and for the attachment of hose-supporters 11, which, connected to the corset at this point, obviates the tendency of drawing the abdomen-supporting extensions 2 away from the body, which would, in so doing, nullify the advantages sought and secured; the substitute front skirt portion being so cut and adjusted as to cover the receding portion of this abdominally fitted corset and securing to the corset the straight front demanded by the corset of fashion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A corset embodying vertically stiffened front portions extended downwardly at the bottom to conform to the abdomen above the groins and closely connected by separable fasteners at their front edges to form an abdominal support, each of the front portions being separated from the body of the corset by a vertical slit extending up from the lower edge of the corset at a point substan tially midway between the front center of the corset and the hip, diagonally arranged supplemental flaps made narrow at their rear ends and secured at their rear edges to the inside of the corset in rear of the vertical slits and in proximity to the hips and extending forwardly and downwardly into proximity to the rear edges of the front portions and with their lower edges following substantially the line of the groin of the wearer, adjustable connections between said rear edges of the front portions and front edges of the supplemental flaps, whereby the front portions will, when connected together and adjusted by the adjustable connections, be drawn in under the abdomen and a flap secured at its upper edge on the outer side of each of the front portions above the upper ends of the side slits and hanging pendent in front of the receding part between the side slits, said flaps being adapted for the attachment of hose supporters.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AGNES RAY.

lVitnesses W ALTER Hummus, GENEVIEVE S. DONELIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

